Chargers will 'host' Titans at Wembley Stadium in 2018

Chargers will 'host' Titans at Wembley Stadium in 2018

The NFL continues its strong push to make the league an international reality in London with the Chargers being one of six teams asked to travel to the UK to promote the league’s agenda in 2018.

Los Angeles will be dubbed the “home team” in their Week 7 matchup with the Titans, though it’s unlikely that they’ll have hardly any true Chargers fans in attendance.

The trips are taxing on players due to the long travel and time difference, and have proven to disadvantage both teams resulting in some of the ugliest football games fans have witnessed in recent years.

Below is the team’s full news release on their contest with the Titans at Wembley Stadium in 2018.

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The Los Angeles Chargers are one of six NFL teams who will compete in the 2018 London Games when they play host to the Tennessee Titans at Wembley Stadium in either Week 7, Sunday, Oct. 21 or Week 8, Sunday, Oct. 28.

In the other Week 7/Week 8 game in London, the Philadelphia Eagles will visit the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium. To date, Wembley Stadium – the home of English football – has hosted 18 NFL games, with almost 1.5 million fans attending those games.

In Week 6, the Seattle Seahawks will visit the Oakland Raiders at English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium.

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The order of the Week 7/Week 8 games, along with all kickoff times, will be confirmed at a later date.

Nearly a decade to the day after playing the NFL’s second-ever regular season game across the pond against the New Orleans Saints in 2008, the Chargers will return to Wembley Stadium – this time as the home team – when they take the field against the Titans.

This is the first of two trips abroad for the Chargers, who will also host a home game outside the U.S. in 2019.

“Since we last visited London in 2008, the NFL’s popularity has continued to grow in the UK,” said Chargers President of Business Operations A.G. Spanos. “It was an honor to be part of the early wave of regular season games played abroad back then, and it is every bit the honor to represent the league in London this time around. We’re excited to introduce the Los Angeles Chargers brand, in person, to football fans in the UK this year, and to fans in our 2019 destination as well.”

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“It has been 10 years since we last played in London, and other than the outcome of the game back in 2008, the experience there among the international fans was pretty cool,” said Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. “I’m excited for the opportunity to once again play at a historic stadium like Wembley, and hopefully this trip will include the Chargers heading home with the win.”

This will be the Chargers’ sixth game played abroad in franchise history and second to occur in the regular season. In the first-ever NFL game played outside North America in August 1976, the Chargers faced the St. Louis Cardinals in the Mainichi Star Bowl in Tokyo, Japan. Nearly two decades passed before the team traveled abroad again.

From 1994 thru 1999, the Chargers played three preseason games as part of the NFL’s American Bowl series: August 1994 vs. New York Giants in Berlin, Germany; July 1996 vs. Pittsburg Steelers in Tokyo, Japan; August 1999 vs. Denver Broncos in Sydney, Australia.

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In 2007, the NFL played its first regular season game in London. Since that time, there has been at least one regular season game played each year in London. In 2012, the NFL added a second game in London for the first time. Two years later, in 2014, the league expanded the London schedule to three regular season games. Last season, a record four regular season contests were held in London.

By the end of the 2018 season, the NFL will have played 24 regular-season games in London, with 29 of 32 teams having participated.

“We continue to be very excited by the growth of the NFL in the UK,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “The fans have demonstrated outstanding support and passion for the NFL over the past 11 seasons and we look forward to some great games in London this year. A key feature of our success is playing in iconic, world-renowned venues like Wembley and Twickenham, and we look forward to playing in what will be another incredible setting for NFL football at Tottenham’s new stadium.”

Ticketing details will be announced by NFL UK on January 18. Anyone interested in registering their interest in attending any of the games can do so at www.ticketmaster.com/nfl to ensure they receive all the latest information. Additionally, fans can sign up at www.chargers.com/london for the latest information about the Chargers trip abroad to London.